Audrey Monyaine Maier

Audrey M. (Lowe) Maier passed from her earthly to her heavenly home late in the evening, beginning her new day in the presence of Jesus and a multitude waiting her arrival. The past year was full of transition from the family home to assisted living to memory care and hospice. Audrey was the last parent and end of an era of her generation. At 96, she left a thriving family legacy.

Audrey was born to Francis (Frank) Lowe and Amo Davis Lowe in March 1930, a daughter between two sons; brothers Robert (Bob) Lowe and David Lowe Sr. Her passing closed the circle as she reunited with her family of origin. Audrey was also preceded in death by her husband of 70 years in 2018, Robert (Bob) Maier and her oldest daughter Cheryl and son-in-law Bob Lemke in 2023. Audrey’s middle and youngest daughters, Jan (Ron) Torres of Yakima and Nancy (Wayne) Bentz of Spokane, survive her.

In June 1948, young bride Audrey and her young groom Bob married in Yakima, Washington. Three daughters completed their family, in turn growing up and marrying, each four years apart. The families grew until at the time of her death, Audrey was blessed with a family village beginning with seven grandchildren: Brian (Dayna) Lemke and Jeff (Vickie) Lemke; Eric (Autumn) Torres and Lisa (Ted) Torres Kanelopoulos; Cameron (Jennie) Bentz; Misty (James Tran) Bentz; and Brandy (Jason) Bentz Berdou. The family line blessed her with five generations of 15 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great-grandchildren. Numerous nieces and nephews, and those who adopted her as “Mom”, enlarged her circle considerably.

Before all those people though, one must start at the beginning! Audrey was born in Grandview, WA and moved to Yakima at two years old - with her family in tow. Young Audrey could be an independent one. She attended school in Yakima, a bane of life living for the 3 pm bell. Studying was simply not her thing, only to become an avid student of the Word of God. It was not uncommon for her daughters to come home from school and find the kitchen bar covered with her Bible, concordances, handwritten notes and diagrams of her much-loved study of the Old Testament Tabernacle. She was a Bible teacher to many.

In 1964, Audrey made her first wedding cake. While she never had a cake lesson in her life and learned on the job, the seed of creativity planted within, exploded into a thriving custom made cake business. Lil Audrey’s Bake Shoppe became well-known throughout the Yakima Valley. With every cake made from scratch, brides and all-occasion cake customers streamed into her bake shop over the next 28 years. A lot of listening, ministry, and prayer fragranced her bakery as much as the aroma of her cakes in the oven.

Not one to ever be bored, the before and early years of the bakery found her babysitting many young ones. Every child in her care was received as her own children. Imagine, cakes and kids and lunch and naps, oh my. She did it all and she did it well. As they grew, so did the business till it became fulltime. Years later, she babysat grandpa as he assisted her in the bake shoppe and with deliveries and set-up. Once she determined she needed less hard work and more fun, she retired and off they went in their fifth wheel. Did we mention she loved to cook? RV park regulars loved to see the Maier rig pull in! She fed multitudes of people over decades - family, friends, church folks, wedding guests, and her Yakima High (Davis HS) Class of ’49. Pretty much anyone who walked in her door, too. Food was a love language.

Audrey is greatly loved and will be deeply missed by so many. She had a huge circle of influence in her 96 years. The family extends their gratitude to the medical and hospice staff, family, and friends who cared for Audrey along the way. Special thanks is given to Mary, her hospice nurse, and David at Heartlinks Hospice; Angie, Jesse, Jasmine and all caregivers at Avamere and Arbor House Memory Care. Thank you as well to Sophie, Audrey’s great-granddaughter and K&K funeral representative, for taking such good care of the arrangements for laying our mother to rest.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, June 18, 2026 from 4:00pm- 8:00pm at Keith & Keith Funeral Home, 902 W. Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA 98902. A private family burial will be held at West Hills Memorial Park in Yakima, WA. Her Celebration of Life is scheduled for Friday, July 24, 2026, at 11:00 am at Keith & Keith Funeral Home, 902 W. Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA 98902. A livestream option will be available closer to the service date.